A BIKING photographer who has spent three years taking pictures of Welsh descendents in Patagonia has published a book of his work.

Ed Gold has taken 16,000 pictures over his time living in South America – documenting the lives of the descendents of the Welsh colonists.

He lived among the local community in Gaiman and also travelled to far flung villages with Welsh connections and photographed the people in their homes, at work and in their free time.

Before then he captured rural communities on Anglesey and travelled the length and breadth of Wales on his three-wheel trike to take pictures – camping out in a tent.

Now he has released the 232-page book Lluniau Cymry Patagonia.

The text in the book on the history and lives of the colonists is written in three languages, Welsh, English and Spanish.

Ed, 40, who moved to Anglesey from Essex 10 years ago, said: “It is not often a person leaves Wales for three years to document the Welsh at the far end of the world. I’m the only person who has produced a photography book about the Welsh colonists here.

“It was very, very important for me to have it written in Welsh, that was a priority. I have respected it and given the Welsh descendants respect by doing it in Cymraeg. That’s the least I could do considering they had ventured out here in the first place.”

But despite the Welsh links Ed has been unable to find a publisher in Wales for his book and was forced to shell out to publish Lluniau Cymry Patagonia himself.

He says he has received more interest in his work in south and north America.

His next challenge is to bike from New York across North America, raising the profile of his work and taking photos of Welsh descendents, before biking back to Patagonia.

l LLUNIAU Cymry Patagonia is available to order for £40 on www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/673238 or on Ed’s website www.edgold.co.uk.